The invention relates to a transverse splicing plate for creating a fuselage of an aircraft by connecting several CFP fuselage sections that have in particular been produced in the winding method, in each case by forming a transverse seam.
Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for connecting fuselage sections, in particular CFP fuselage sections that have been produced in the winding method, for creating a fuselage for an aircraft comprising such a transverse splicing plate.
US 2006/060705 A1, US 2005/213278 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,042,055 A and FR 808 710 A disclose the connection of fuselage sections by means of a splicing plate.
In modern aircraft engineering, by means of transverse splicing plates with the formation of circumferential transverse seams, several fuselage sections are joined to form complete aircraft fuselages. The transverse splicing plates are preferably, by means of riveting, riveted to the respectively to be joined ends of the fuselage sections. On both sides of the transverse seam, depending on the local load profile, two to three rows of rivets are circumferentially placed through the transverse splicing plate and the fuselage section skin. In the upper region of the fuselage section, preferably three rows of rivets are placed on both sides of the transverse seam, because in this zone essentially tensile stresses in longitudinal direction of the fuselage occur. In the lower region of the transverse seam, in which region the decisive structural loads are exerted as a result of compressive forces, generally two rows of rivets are applied to both sides of the circumferential transverse seam.
As a rule, the material used in the production of the transverse splicing plate corresponds to the material used for the fuselage section or for the fuselage skin. By means of the transverse splicing plates, tensile forces/compressive forces, shearing forces and circumferential forces are transferred from one fuselage section to the respectively adjacent fuselage section.
In order to save weight, fuselage sections are increasingly produced by means of the winding method with the use of composite materials, for example carbon-fibre-reinforced epoxy resin (CFP fuselage sections). Due to the normally large cross-sectional dimensions of wound CFP fuselage sections, dimensional variations result, in particular radial variations, between the fuselage sections to be joined, which variations are unavoidable in the production process but which render tension-free joining of the fuselage sections difficult or impossible. As a rule, the dimensional variations that occur cannot be compensated for with the use of conventional transverse splicing plates.
In order to nevertheless counter the problems associated with tolerances, wound CFP fuselage sections are not connected directly with a further wound CFP fuselage section. Instead, as a rule, each wound CFP fuselage section is followed by a CFP fuselage section that comprises at least two shells so that radial tolerances can better be compensated for; an arrangement which is, however, associated with increased production expenditure. A further option of compensating for tolerances consists of the use of compensation means in solid or liquid form, which, however, from the point of view of production are also unfavourable because they are time consuming.